


Afternoon Delight

by kaylynnkie



Series: Center Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 04:31:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/618093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaylynnkie/pseuds/kaylynnkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to <a>Jaenivitechia 's</a> <a href="http://jaenivitechia.livejournal.com/2146.html">CW Center</a>. After his corporal punishment, Jared cares for Jensen and they discuss what it means to be a good citizen</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afternoon Delight

It was raining outside, and Jared watched it from behind the window. It was an even sheet that seemed to ripple across the sky. He could hear Jensen in the kitchen, humming as he made tea and coffee. The sky was a muted gray color, makingthe rain all the more dreary. 

“There's cream and sugar,” Jensen said as he set the mug before Jared on the coffee table. He was wearing square framed glasses. “I don't usually have coffee. Danni likes it.”

Was she that special someone else Jensen usually made coffee for? Jared didn't like the implication since it didn't strike him that Jensen kept things around 'just in case.' It was rare that he ever felt possessive about anyone, much less a case he was working on. While Jared pondered, Jensen had retrieved a small jug of honey from the kitchen.

He smile awkwardly when he added some to his tea. Jared looked towards the tabletop and noticed the small tray with a ceramic jug and a a tin of sugar cubes. There were two spoons. One for each of them he supposed. Jensen was putting a cube of sugar in his tea and only the slightest hint of cream.

“I wasn't sure if you liked it black.”

Jared shook his head, adding three cubes of sugar and a generous helping of sugar. “I like things that are sweet.” He arched an eyebrow suggestively at the man across from him.  
Jensen's shy smile was enough to encourage a variety of unprofessional and lustful thoughts. Most of them much sweeter than usual and far too many of them involve more kissing than Jared was comfortable with. _A long stretch of skin and muscle - unmarred - and Jared above it all, leaning down and kissing, licking, sucking, biting. Marking it the way he wanted to._

As he sipped his coffee, testing its temperature, he couldn't help but notice that Jensen was avoiding sitting down, fussing over the tray and moving around small items on the table. He would have to sit eventually, but it wasn't going to be pleasant. Jared smiled as he watched Jensen resign himself and slowly lower himself onto the sofa.

“Damn!” he hissed when his ass came in contact with the cushion.

Jared nodded sympathetically. “Did you take some Tylenol for that?”

He looked up at Jared with a look far too akin to fear for Jared's liking. Seeking to placate the other man, he waved his hand dismissively. The Center didn't condone using any sort of painkiller to deal with correction.

“I'm here as a fellow citizen, not your Caseworker.”

The man across from him didn't look convinced and drew his lips into a thin line as he drank his tea. 

“How is your coffee?”

“Very good,” he said enthusiastically. “Thank you for inviting me inside. Your home is lovely.”

And that wasn't just a conversation maker. Jensen had a beautiful apartment with thick carpeting and dark wood paneling. Tasteful portraits hung from the walls, all within State guidelines, and there was a welcoming scent in the air...like lemons. The furniture was comfortable and plain but spoke with an elegance of simplicity. Jared had a feeling that if he had met Jensen somewhere else, he would have liked his company very much and committed himself firmly to removing Jensen's crisp, clean clothes himself. He understand too well why each case was asked to remove his or her own clothes. It was a matter of emotional distance and a removal of temptation. The Center called referred to it as "protection" for both parties. Cases needed to be wary of the Caseworker's tendency to abuse his authority, and Caseworkers needed to know that they would be vulnerable to manipulation. 

“Thank you,” he replied softly.

Silence hung between them, and Jared was sure that Jensen was thinking of a way to please him somehow. It was natural. He had seen it in other cases, and he was troubled that he was already beginning think of Jensen in a way that was startlingly different from a typical case. From the moment he had first seen him, a small photograph clipped to his file, Jared had felt something warm and nice curl up tightly in his chest. It probably had something to do with the fact that Jensen was stunning. His eyes were an interesting shade of green, which was rare in citizens these days, and he had a calm strength about him. Oh...and his body. It was sculpted and strong with just enough muscle to be powerful without being overwhelming. There was a very peaceful air in the apartment, and with Jensen now that he was inside of it. Now, though, it wasn't just that. He found himself wondering all sorts of things about Jensen. What did he like to eat? Where did he go on his day off? Why did he break the law? What the hell was that thing on his desk?

“It's a balsa wood model for a sculpture I want to do,” Jensen explained when he noticed Jared's eyes on the wood model on the desk.

“What kind of sculpture?”

Jensen swallowed nervously. “A water one. In the main city square. I was commissioned for it last month.”

“Before your hearing.”

His eyes fell to the floor and it was silent again. Jared cursed silently, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry. I didn't mean anything.”

He touched Jensen's thigh, regretting it instantly when Jensen tensed and recoiled from him.

Seeking to placate this frightened creature, he tried, “You're an artist?”

Jensen nodded shyly. “I work for the Ministry. Danni is my agent. She got the contract for me, but when I was arrested...” He swallowed and ducked his head. “She had to go to the Legal Offices. She backed me up even though she didn't agree with me.”

“That's very...admirable of her.”

He nodded. “Yes. She managed to get my maximum sentence reduced to Center correction.”

“Instead of permanent incarceration?”

“She also got my contracts with the Board of Aesthetics re-approved.” He toyed with the spoon in his tea. “I have a lot to be grateful for because of her.”

“She seems special to you.”

He shrugged, “Childhood friend. We were ranked in the same percentile for education. She outranked me in occupational placement, though.”

“That how she ended up managing you?”

Jensen's cheeks colored. “Something like that.”

“Very cool.” Jared grinned, but the other man looked uneasy. 

“You should go.” 

He made to stand, but a look of pain crossed his face, and he seemed to think better of it. Instead, he ended up in an awkward kind of hunched over stance.

Jared stood up and steadied him with a hand on each of his hips.

Jensen tried to wave him off. “You need to go. I'll-” 

“I will. I promise. I'll go. Just sit down. I'll get you some Tylenol and water. It will help.” 

Begrudgingly, Jensen sat back down and told him where the bathroom was. Jared found, unsurprisingly, that Jensen's bathroom was just as spotless and in order as the other rooms he had seen. He got the Tylenol from the cabinet behind the mirror and filled a glass with water before returning to the couch, where Jensen was sitting.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

They sat there for a while, Jensen obediently took the pills and Jared made sure he didn't choke on them. After a while, it became clear that Jensen wasn't going to break the silence between them. 

It was Jared who decided that Jensen needed to know that he wasn't alone, that other people make mistakes too, but first thing first.

“Why did you do it?”

Jensen looked at him with wet eyes and shook his head. “No. You don't get to ask me that.”

“Why not?” When Jensen didn't answer, Jared found himself becoming annoyed with the other man for a variety of reasons he couldn't really articulate anymore. “Why would you do something so selfish? So foolish?”

Jensen flushed. He seemed to want to say something but paused and shook his head instead. 

“It wasn't selfish,” he murmured.

The soft tone he used made Jared sigh and settle down. He fell back, slumping into the sofa. 

“How the hell could it not be? You broke the law. Dragged others down with you. Everything you did was self-serving.” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled the breath slowly. “I'm not saying you didn't have your reasons, but it doesn't mean that it was justified. Or that it was even okay!”

Jensen frowned and looked away. Jared noticed that he was sitting slightly towards the side probably to stave off the pain of his ass. It had been a brutal strapping, but the crime had demanded it. Jared hadn't decided what Jensen's punishment would be. There were others who made those kinds of decisions. Others more qualified than Jared could ever hope to be. He didn't feel guilt about what had taken place in the Center. How could he? It wasn't Jared who had power over Jensen in the Center. It was the State that was cementing its authority over the citizen, over Jensen.

When Jensen finally spoke, his voice was trembling. “Why was it wrong? I didn't do anything wrong. I don't deserve to be punished for a year because of...Because of that.”  
Jared frowned. He shouldn't want to talk about this. It was stupid. It was dangerous. Jensen could get in even more trouble. He wanted to kiss those soft looking lips and suck on the jut of Jensen's collarbone. He wanted to run his hands over the newly formed bruises, make Jensen squirm and moan, crying out in a whole new way. He didn't want to dwell on what couldn't be change, but everything about Jensen was starting to make sense based on how he was reacting. The way the older man sat and kept his head down, the self conscious way he was toying with his cup, but it was the way he was _looking_ at Jared. Like Jared had betrayed him. Jensen wasn't seeing Jared. He was seeing his Caseworker. The man who had humiliated him and punished him. While he had abandoned 67 at the Center to meet Jensen, a sexy artist with glasses, Jensen was still seeing Jared the Caseworker. 

“That doesn't matter,” he said firmly. “What's wrong and what's right isn't for a citizen to decide. How could we ever make those kinds of decisions? The State is the only one who can make the distinction.” There was no way Jensen could ignore the logic of that Jared thought.

“See!?” Jensen threw out his arm and swept it through the air with his palm up towards the ceiling. “Why is the state 'who'? It isn't a person! Not a citizen! It can't think or feel, can it?” He flinched as he twisted slightly, antagonizing his wounds. “It can't-”

Jared slapped his hand over Jensen's mouth. He was furious, and Jensen could feel his anger radiating through his skin.

“Don't you dare,” he whispered threateningly. “Don't you say another goddamn word. I am still an officer of the State, and you are a citizen. Has your correction taught you nothing?”

All the fight went out of him then, and Jared almost regretted silencing him. There had been something wonderful about seeing Jensen passionate and excited about something. Now, he was the meek case file Jared had received before lunch. He was deflated and subdued, nothing at all animated or special about him. He was a natural submissive, and he was in the Center. This was a very bad idea.

“I asked you to leave earlier. I would like it if you would do so now.”

Jared straightened. “That was a very good idea. I'll do that.” He drew his coat tightly around him. “Good night, Jensen. I'll see you in a month.”

Visibly, Jensen shuddered. “Yes, Sir.”

“Please, don't.”

He looked confused. “What...is it?”

“Don't call me sir here,” he said in a hushed voice. “Not like that.”

Jensen turned away.

The coffee and tea were still both on the table, steam was no longer issuing from either anymore. Jensen's face was angled away from him, and as he left he, Jared could have sworn he heard a small hitching sob from the armchair.

He stopped suddenly, his hands hovering an inch or so from the driver's side door. He hadn't even told Jensen what he had meant to. No wonder the other man was still angry with him and scared of him. Jared still hadn't told him his story, and it was _he_ who had been selfish. He hadn't listened. Jensen was trying to tell him, explain why he had done what he had done. It had reminded Jared of once upon a time when he had screwed up, and instead of being wistful and considerate like he had been educated to be, he had been cruel and inconsiderate. He hadn't even told Jensen _his_ story. And for that, he was incredibly sorry.


End file.
